The present invention relates to refuse vehicles for collecting and transporting garbage and recyclable materials from residences or other commercial establishments to a central disposal point such as a dump, incinerator, or recycling facility. More specifically, the present invention relates to a multiple compartment storage body having an upper compartment and a lower compartment separated by a vertically movable partition which permits the volume of either the upper or lower compartment in communication with a discharge opening to be increased for easier unloading of the refuse material.
In recent years, communities and states have developed programs for the segregation and collection of recyclable materials to minimize the consumption of natural resources and the exhaustion of landfills. In several states and communities, recycling programs have been mandated. However, vehicles intended to collect and haul waste or garbage are generally not suitable for collecting and hauling recyclable materials. Waste collecting and hauling devices and vehicles typically include a single volume or compartment in which all collected materials are stored and transported. As a result, the collected materials are co-mingled with one another in one large single compartment which is unloaded at a central disposal site.
In contrast to general garbage, recyclable commodities are preferably segregated and contained within different compartments. For example, depending upon local recycling facilities, it is often acceptable to co-mingle glass, plastic and aluminum recyclable commodities with each other. However, these three commodities must be segregated from paper and newsprint. As a result, special vehicles having multiple compartments are required for collecting recyclable commodities. Because the amount of each commodity may vary from day to day or from site to site, it is also advantageous to provide compartments which have adjustable volumes to provide variable capacities for containing the commodities. Although the multiple compartments allow different commodities to be separated, compartmentalization also reduces the storage volume of the storage body. In addition, because of the increased number of walls and corners within the individual compartments, less material may be compacted and contained within the interior volume of the storage body. As a result, multiple compartment storage bodies designed for the collection and segregation of recyclable materials are not economical and well suited for the collection of unrecyclable garbage which does not need to be segregated. Consequently, communities may be required to own and operate separate vehicles, a single compartment garbage truck for the sole collection of garbage from one locality and a multiple compartment vehicle for the collection of recyclables and refuse from a different locality. Maintaining and operating separate vehicles for these different functions is costly.
As refuse is filled within each compartment of multiple compartment vehicles, the refuse tends to become compacted. Moreover, to increase the mass of materials which may be carried and transported within the storage body, refuse vehicles typically include rams or compactors for further compacting the refuse within the individual compartments. As the number of compartments within the storage body increase, the need for further compacting the refuse material also increases. Compaction of the refuse materials permits larger amounts of refuse material to be contained within the storage body, thereby reducing the number of trips and the total cost associated with collecting the refuse. However, compaction of the refuse material within the storage body also makes unloading the refuse from the vehicle more difficult. As a result, compacted refuse within the storage body must be loosened and uncompacted so that the material may be dumped or pushed from the storage body. Loosening the compacted refuse or recyclable material requires additional time and tools and increases the cost of operating the refuse collection vehicle.
Unloading the compacted refuse from the storage body is further complicated in storage bodies having hopper discharge openings which narrow towards the opening. Because these discharge openings are generally funnel shaped, compacted refuse material within the storage body actually becomes more compacted as the material approaches the opening. As a result, storage bodies utilizing hopper-shaped discharge openings as part of the floor of the storage body are especially difficult to unload.